Combined power switch and data distribution unit

ABSTRACT

A communication device for use with a power distribution module. The communication device allows multiple different DMX universes to be handled over the same cable that also handles power distribution. A front of house module is provided for powering consoles and receiving DMX inputs from the consoles. Two different consoles can be powered and provide their inputs, and either console can be used to control any or all of the universes.

This application claims priority from Provisional Application No.60/871,109, filed Dec. 20, 2006, the disclosure of which is herewithincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Our previous application Ser. No. 11/190,494 filed Jul. 27, 2006, isformed of a rolling rack which holder breaker modules that provide powerthat is sent over a cable to breakout boxes. The same rack can handlemany different kinds of power, e.g., 115 and 220, as well as multipledifferent phases etc. The safety systems in the rack prevent the wrongvoltage from being applied to the breakout boxes. An interlock systemonly supplies power after all connections are made, thereby protectingworkers against being shocked during installation.

FIG. 1 illustrates the rack 100 and the previous components. LED metermodule 102 may monitor the state of the different communicationchannels. Breaker modules such as 104 may also be used. Each of thebreaker modules such as 104 provides power when it is appropriatelyconnected to an appropriate breakout box 110. The controls within theunit will not allow power to be applied unless the proper power isconfigured for the proper breakout box.

SUMMARY

The present application describes a special communication system addedto the power switch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system;

FIG. 2 shows a breaker module;

FIG. 3 shows a breakout box with communication parts;

FIGS. 4 and 5 shows a front of house breakout box;

FIG. 6 shows a breaker module;

FIG. 7 shows an A/B switch;

FIGS. 8-11 show mounting of the breakout box; and

FIG. 12 shows a menu; and

FIGS. 13A-13I show different menus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A breaker module such as 104 is connected via a trunk cable 108 to abreakout box. Each breakout box such as 110 includes a number of outlets112 thereon. The outlets 112 are configured for a certain kind of power.Power is only supplied through the trunk cable 100 when an appropriatebreakout box for the outlets is properly attached. That is, if theoutlets such as 112 are configured to supply 115 V power, e.g., theyhave the form and layout of a 115 V power socket, then power will onlybe supplied when 115 V is available on the trunk cable 108. Theoperation of this system is also described in our co-pendingapplication, described above.

In addition, FIG. 1 shows front of house breaker module 120, which isconnected to a front of house breakout module 122. Part of thecommunication is carried out over DMX, and hence there may be multipledifferent DMX “universes” carried over the cables. A front of house AVswitch 124 allows selecting between different sets of universes using asimplified technique. In operation, there may be eight DMX 512 universesalong with inputs for Ethernet signal at the breakout module. There mayalso be fewer universes, for example, the embodiment describes 3 DMXuniverses.

FIG. 2 illustrates the front actual breaker modules. The panel 200includes a number of circuit breaker switches 202. Each breaker switch202 provides individual protection for a circuit. There may be twoseparate trunk circuits on the panel, and six breakers per trunkcircuit. A main display 205 may show information about theconfiguration.

In addition, each breaker module may include connections for multipledifferent DMX channels 210, and multiple different Ethernet ports 215.Each of these data channels also includes at least one status indicator.In this embodiment, the DMX channel 210 includes LEDs 211 that indicatevalid DMX receive, RDM receive, and transmit. The Ethernet connectors215 have associated LEDs 216 which indicate Ethernet link, transmit andreceive.

There are also separate trunk LEDs 220 that indicate valid trunk datalink and data flow.

FIG. 3 shows details of the breakout box 300. Each breakout box includesa number of power output connectors such as 300 can provide AC power toa device, and as previously described, no AC power is provided until theproper kind of connection has been made. In addition, each breakout boxprovides, as in the breaker modules, DMX connectors from multipleuniverses, Ethernet connectors, and status indicators.

FIG. 3 shows a 15 A 208 V model with six outlets. Each breakout box 300is labeled with a connector number such as 301, and voltagespecification 302 and phase specification 303 as shown.

FIGS. 4 and 5 shows a front of house breakout module. In thisembodiment, the current breakout module may provide power outlets for 12devices, each with a separate circuit breaker. In addition, the moduleprovides 10 different DMX connections, each of which allow includingconsole data into the DMX and Ethernet stream. Ethernet inputs 422 canbe used for receiving any Ethernet signals from consoles, such asArt-net or Hog Ethernet.

Hence the front of house breakout module allows connection to andpowering of multiple different controlling consoles. Each console can beconnected to one of the inputs 420, 422, and can be controlled, e.g., todetermine a universe for the data from that console.

The control can be carried out using interface controller 424 and itsassociated display 426 as described herein.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the breakout module, showing the connectorfor the trunk that includes power and signal 504. The intercomconnection 500 allows connection to the intercom system. This may be anXLR 3 pin connector. An a-b switch connector 502 may also be providedusing an XLR 7 pins connector.

The breakout module includes a number of outlets which may include both115 v outputs such as 402 as well as 208 v outlets 404. This facilitatespowering both voltages of consoles that may connect to the module.

The front of house breaker module that connects to and provides powerfor the FOH breakout module, is shown in FIG. 6. This may include onlytwo circuit breakers shown as 600, 602 in FIG. 6. Intercom inputs arealso shown as well as DMX connectors and Ethernet connectors.

Front of house AB switch is shown in FIG. 7. This allows switchingbetween two DMX universes, labeled A and B. The switches can be pressedto select sets of universes, and when pressed, cause the associated lampto light. The selected universe becomes the default universe for a newconnection or for monitoring. FIG. 7 illustrates the XLR connector 700,as well as universe A selector 702 and universe B connector 704.Universe C can be controlled/selected by pressing both the A and Bbuttons at the same time. In the embodiment, universe C is reserved forsystem testing and hence may not be selectable at the AB selector.

As an example of operation, two universes from a primary console couldbe input into the front of house breakout module. These two universesare labeled as 0 a and 1 a. The 0 and 1 represent the universe, and the“a” designation represents the specific console that is connected.

Two mirrored universes could be added from a backup console. Thesemirrored universes are labeled 0 b and 1 b, 0 and 1 for the universedesignation, and b for the backup console. Universes from both consolesare active on the network all the time. This makes it possible to verifythat both consoles are running by simply checking the system status. Thethird system C may be used for additional inputs such as a tech console.

The AV switch, which is in fact a virtual switch and not a real switch,indicates the current system state using its backlit selector switcheseven if this has been changed elsewhere.

The breaker modules and racks can accept a number of different kinds ofinputs, and can route them to various outputs using the user interfaceand the menu display. For example, this accepts Ethernet, DMX 512 aswell as DMX 512 over Ethernet. Each of these protocols can be handledsimultaneously. Different systems can also be used, where each inputfrom each system may be individually numbered, e.g., A, B, and C,depending on the system that sends it. Therefore, there may be multipledifferent consoles each connected to a specified universe. For example,with three consoles each connected to universe 0, console A is labeleduniverse 0 a, console B is universe 0B, etc. Any of the consoles can beselected as a default at any moment.

The breakout box can be mounted in one of several different ways. FIG. 8illustrates a breakout box that is mounted to a truss pipe. The box 800is connected to at least one piece of angled steel. The angled steelpiece 802 has wing bolts 900 thereon as shown in FIG. 9 which can betightened within the holes, to mount the breakout box onto a truss pipe.Those same holes can be used to hold the angled steel pieces to aconnection bracket 1000. FIG. 10 illustrates how the bracket 1000 isconnected by screws 1002 into the same holes 902. A truss hook 1100 canbe connected to the bracket 1000. Once connected in this way, the trusthook 1100 can be used to connect to a truss pipe 1102 as illustrated inFIG. 11 to hold the breakout unit.

The menu display 205 on the data system can used to configure, test andaccess the internal status information. The button bar soft programmablebuttons 260 as shown in FIG. 2, and can be used with a dynamic menuoptions. The hard reset button 265 forces a hard reset of the module'sprocessor starting over the operation from an initial state.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary output on the menu. The top line 1200of the menu provides the title of the specific menu being displayed.This title may change as different items are displayed. The centersection provides menu specific information such as the rack number 1202,and the trunk assignments 1204. 1206 illustrates the current function ofthese buttons. For example in the FIG. 12 display, the button left 1208is assigned to next. These button functions may be dynamicallyre-assigned during operation.

Exemplary menus that can be displayed on the unit may include:

Input/Output Summary in - Configure Inputs out - Configure Outputs src -Configure system input source sys - System Overview univ -System:Universes rack - System:Racks foh - System:FOH setup - Setupdmx - DMX Monitor err - Error Status * info - Software Info

Hence, this can be used to configure the inputs or outputs, or inputsource, review the system overview, and can each individually select andchange parameters.

Different menus may have different functions. The input output outputsummary menu shows the configuration of the DMX rack inputs and the DMXoutputs on each of the trunk breakout boxes.

FIG. 13A shows for rack 101 that input 1 is universe 1, from system a(001 a) and that input 2 is universe 2 from system b (002 b)

The source default is system a, as shown by the last line of the inputsummary which shows SRC: a.

Similarly, the front of house module can have an I/O summary as shown inFIG. 13B.

This shows the configuration of the 10 DMX 512 rack inputs, and the twooutputs 000 and 001. Each input universe has a letter which indicateswhich of the three sources is being used for that universe. For example,001 a indicates that universe 1 is associated with source a. Again,source a is the current default in this picture.

The rack inputs have a menu shown in FIG. 13C.

That can be configured by highlighting the universe and selecting eitherthe up menu or the down menu. When finished, “done” can be pressed toconfirm that a proper operation is completed. In a similar way, thefront of house inputs can be configured as shown in FIG. 13D.

And the rack inputs can be configured as shown in FIG. 13E

Source selection shows the number of modules on the network that arecurrently using each input system as its default. A highlighted sourceis the current source for the module, which can be changed by selectinga, b or c from the last row of the menu as shown in FIG. 13F.

A system overview screen is shown in FIG. 13G.

Is also provided, where the universe field shows the number of DMX 512currently active, the rack interface field shows the number of rackinterface modules on the network, and the front of house interface fieldshows the number of front of house modules on the network.

The system universes display shows the universes that are active on thenetwork as shown in FIG. 13H.

Up to four universes can be displayed at any one time. Each displayshows the universe number (here 0000), and the source (here b), themodule where that universe is defined as an input (here rack 250) andthe port for that input to be connected (here port zero). The left andright arrows allow different universes to be displayed.

Different operations can also be carried out in an analogous way,including defining system racks and front of house, defining the namedisplay configuration reset and light options.

The DMX monitors shows the current data for a DMX universe as shown inFIG. 13I.

The DMX universe number is shown in the title here 000 b. The “next” keytriggers to the next universe. The first number of each line is thechannel offset, followed by the five channels of data.

According to an embodiment, each of the DMX inputs receive a systemidentifier which is a letter a, b or c, in addition to a universe numberwhich can be in this embodiment between 0 and 255. The input receivessystem and universe, but the output only has a universe number; therebyenabling control by whatever hardware is selected as active to createand control that universe. Each DMX output transmits its assigneduniverse for the currently active system.

The active system can be selected from the AB switch box or from anymenu. The AB switch can be connected to any desired breakout boxanywhere in the system, since it is a logical, not physical switch.

An advantage of this system is that it enables multiple universes to becontrolled from multiple different consoles. For example, two universescan be controlled from the primary console into the front of housebreakout box. These two universes can be labeled as 0 a and 1 a. Twoother mirrored universes can be used from the backup console labeled 0 band 1 b. Since the universe numbers on these are the same, they bothcarry the same universe of information. However, the system informationis different. All universes are active at all times. When system a isselected, console a controls the universe by sending universes 0 a and 1a, while system b is controllable via the switch to allows sendinguniverses 0 b and 1 b.

Although only a few embodiments have been disclosed in detail above,other embodiments are possible and the inventors intend these to beencompassed within this specification. The specification describesspecific examples to accomplish a more general goal that may beaccomplished in another way. This disclosure is intended to beexemplary, and the claims are intended to cover any modification oralternative which might be predictable to a person having ordinary skillin the art. For example, other commands and command forms can be used.DMX is listed as the preferred command format, but any other format, andspecifically any time-division multiplexed format could be used for thiscontrol.

Also, the inventors intend that only those claims which use the words“means for” are intended to be interpreted under 35 USC 112, sixthparagraph. Moreover, no limitations from the specification are intendedto be read into any claims, unless those limitations are expresslyincluded in the claims. The computers described herein may be any kindof computer, either general purpose, or some specific purpose computersuch as a workstation. The computer may be a Pentium class computer,running Windows XP or Linux, or may be a Macintosh computer. Thecomputer may also be a handheld computer, such as a PDA, cellphone, orlaptop.

The programs may be written in C, or Java, Brew or any other programminglanguage. The programs may be resident on a storage medium, e.g.,magnetic or optical, e.g. the computer hard drive, a removable disk ormedia such as a memory stick or SD media, or other removable medium. Theprograms may also be run over a network, for example, with a server orother machine sending signals to the local machine, which allows thelocal machine to carry out the operations described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a first controllingconsole, providing a first universe of DMX control information, saidcontrol information being first information to control plural differentcontrolled elements including at least one controlled light; a secondcontrolling console, providing a second version of said first universe,said second universe of DMX control information controlling similarinformation to said first information in said first universe ofcontrolling information; a remote box, having a housing, and havingmultiple electrical outlets thereon, a connection for said first andsecond universes of DMX control information, and at least one Ethernetconnector, said remote box also have a mounting device attached to saidhousing that connects the housing to a separate unit that also holdslighting devices; a rack of equipment that also distributes electricalpower via said remote box, said rack of equipment being separate fromsaid housing of said remote box, said first controlling consoleconnected for distributing said first universe of control informationover said rack of equipment to said controlled elements including saidat least one controlled light; and said rack of equipment allowingselection of either said first controlling console or said secondcontrolling console to provide said first universe of information tosaid controlled elements.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid distributing comprises providing a circuit breaker in said rackthat controls power distribution to said remote box, and another circuitbreaker that controls power to another remote box.
 3. The apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein said remote box includes a connectionsystem which connects to a truss.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3wherein said connection system is a bent piece of material that isattached to said housing of said remote box, said bent piece of materialincluding three surfaces which surround a round portion of said trussand also including a tightening element which tightens to hold saidthree surfaces to said round portion of said truss.
 5. The apparatusaccording to claim 3 wherein said connection system includes a clampthat can be attached to and removed from said remote box.
 6. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said Ethernet connection alsocarries information from said DMX information in said remote box suchthat both said Ethernet and said DMX both carry at least part of thesame information.
 7. A device, comprising: a controller box includingplural different circuit breakers therein, and a safety mechanism whichprevents power from being supplied until said controller box is properlyconnected; a housing, remote from said controller box; said housingincluding a first plurality of power connectors, including outletscarrying electric power, said outlets located in said housing andreceiving electrical power; said housing also including a secondplurality of connections for DMX universes, allowing connection ofplural different DMX universes, located in said housing and said secondplurality of connections being mounted on the same panel as the firstplurality of connections, wherein said second plurality of connectionsalso includes at least an Ethernet connection which include informationfrom the DMX universes therein such that both said Ethernet connectionand said second plurality of connections both carry at least part of thesame information; and a mounting element for said housing, mounting saidhousing on a round connection part of a truss.
 8. A power distributiondevice, comprising: a first distribution part, located in a rack thathas an electrical power distribution therein, that has DMX inputs fromat least first and second controlling consoles for a plurality of lightsand having electrical power outlets for powering said first and secondcontrol consoles; a second distribution part, also located in said rack,also receiving power from said rack, and having a connection to a remotepower distribution unit, said remote power distribution unit includingat least one electrical outlet for controlling a controlled light, andat least one DMX output associated with said DMX inputs, for providingcontrol of said remote light that receives power on said remote powerdistribution unit; and at least an Ethernet connections which includeinformation from the DMX universes therein such that both said Ethernetand said DMX both carry at least part of the same information.
 9. Thepower distribution device according to claim 8, further comprising aselector switch that allows selecting which of said first and secondcontrolling consoles controls said lights.
 10. The power distributiondevice according to claim 9, wherein said selector switch can beconnected to said first distribution part or to said power distributionunit and can control said selecting from both said first distributionpart and from said power distribution part.
 11. The power distributiondevice according to claim 9, wherein said selector switch includes anillumination indicating which of a channels are active.